Among super PAC spending, more than half has come from American Crossroads, a pro-Republican group founded with the help of former George W. Bush administration adviser Karl Rove.
Donations to the group include $400,000 from American Financial Group, a publicly held company, which could make the contribution because of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That ruling lifted restrictions on corporate spending in elections.

The super PAC is just one part of the American Crossroads operation, which also includes a nonprofit advocacy arm called American Crossroads GPS that does not have to disclose its donors under U.S tax laws. Overall, American Crossroads says it has raised about $32 million, divided evenly between its super PAC and nonprofit arms.

"There are some donors who are interested in anonymity when it comes to advocating for specific issues," spokesman Jonathan Collegio said.

Indeed, donor disclosure is the main reason that some trade groups, unions and other organizations might limit their use of super PACs, experts said.

WASHINGTON -- The Restore Our Future PAC, formed earlier this year with the express purpose of helping former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney get elected president, reported raising $12.2 million from just 90 donors during the first half of the year, according to a disclosure report filed Sunday with the Federal Election Committee (FEC). Romney's campaign will get a big boost in the Republican primary from the outside political committee, which is able to raise unlimited money from individuals and corporations.

The committee's big-money fundraising efforts reveal the strong financial support that Romney has received from Wall Street and from Mormon businessmen. The PAC's success also shows the rapidly changing nature of the country's campaign finance system after the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.

That decision opened the door for corporations to contribute directly and without limit to certain political committees, such as Restore Our Future. The FEC does not require a contributing business to disclose the name of its owner.

The four biggest contributions to Restore Our Future came in at $1 million each. Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, who made billions betting against the U.S. housing market, gave $1 million

The other three major contributions came from little-known businesses with hardly any identifying information.

Those business contributions reveal a new twist in the breakdown of transparency around campaign contributions.

A search of Utah state business records revealed that two of the companies, Eli Publishing LLC and F8 LLC, are affiliated with Steven Lund and Blake Roney, founders of the Provo, Utah-based anti-aging product company Nu Skin Enterprises and both Romney supporters. Eli Publishing is registered to Lund and F8 is registered to Jeremy Blickenstaff, a lawyer affiliated with Nu Skin, according to business filings. The Lund family foundation and the Roney family foundation are each also located at the same address as Eli Publishing and F8, respectively. Both Lund and Roney are affiliated with the Mormon church and have contributed to Mormon causes, including a "PBS Frontline" episode on Mormons.

A search for the third business, New York City-based W Spann LLC, turned up no filings in New York State's business records. The company does, however, list an address with ties to two of Romney's biggest supporters. The address, 590 Madison Ave, is a skyscraper that boasts as tenants Bain Capital, the investment fund that Romney used to run, and Randy Levine, the president of the New York Yankees, a lawyer at Akin Gump Strauss & Co. and a top fundraiser for the Romney campaign.

Americans for Rick Perry, a so-called Super PAC that is permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of a Rick Perry presidential bid but is unaffiliated with the candidate and is legally barred from coordinating its activities with his campaign, raised $193,000 in the last 10 days of June, according to a July 29 filing with the Federal Election Commission.

The largest donor during that period was Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, who contributed $100,000. (Disclosure: Mr. Simmons is a major donor to The Texas Tribune.) Houston-based Dealer Computer Services gave $50,000, while Cypress-based Withers Energy Group gave $25,000. Other donors listed were Wareing and Company of Houston, which contributed $10,000, and three individuals with Houston addresses: Johnny Baker, president of John H. Baker Interests, $5,000; James H. Greer, director/president of James H. Greer Interests Inc., $2,000; and John S. Arnoldy, manager at D-Cok LP, $1,000.

Through the end of June, according to the filing, the PAC had only spent $17,243.28, leaving it with $175,756.72 cash on hand.

____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____

The real starting gun of the 2012 presidential race may be sounding Monday, and it's coming in the form of massive attack ad campaign aimed squarely at President Obama's economic record.

Crossroads GPS, anonymous-money collecting arm of the Citzens United-inspired political machine founded by Karl Rove and other Republican heavyweights, is going live with a $20 million television ad campaign targeting the president 497 days before voters head to the polls in November 2012.

The ads will start appearing on Monday, and will run on national cable as well as broadcast covering key swing states, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, and Virginia.

The opening round buy is $5 million, enough to keep the ad on the air for two weeks.

Crossroads GPS says the ad is the opening salvo in a "new $20 million issue advocacy initiative over the next two months to frame the national debate on jobs, the economy and the national debt in anticipation of congressional action on these issues."

Toomey is a real asshat.
I'll be working to get him replaced by Sestak

former Vice Admiral Sestak.

Joe Sestak attended Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield,PA, where his mother worked as a math teacher. Sestak was deeply inspired by his father. He recalls the time Joseph Sr. spent five hours fixing the family car in the freezing cold of a Philadelphia winter:

"I remember going to the window and watching him. And the admiration that I had—just that strong determination of his. Never give in."

Following in his father's footsteps, Sestak enlisted in the U.S. Naval Academy immediately after graduating high school. In 1974, Sestak graduated second in his class of over 900 midshipmen, with a Bachelor of Science degree in American political systems. Between tours at sea, Sestak earned a Master of Public Administration and a Ph.D. in political economy and government from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1980 and 1984, respectively.

Abortion
Sestak is pro-choice, holding a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and a 0% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. NARAL endorsed Sestak in the 2010 Democratic primary over Specter because of Sestak's opposition to a ban on partial birth abortion. In 2009, Sestak's invitation to speak to students at the Catholic Malvern Preparatory School was rescinded after the school received criticism from Catholic parents and alumni.

Economy
Sestak supports requiring Congress to offset the cost of all new spending. The Congressman also supports expanding middle class tax cuts and letting the Bush tax cuts expire. He voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus) and the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.

Education
Sestak voted for the Improving Head Start Act and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

Environment
Sestak voted for the Waxman Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (Cap and Trade) program. Joe Sestak has a 96% lifetime rating from League of Conservation Voters and a 100% rating from PennEnvironment. He was endorsed by the Sierra Club in his 2006 and 2008 Congressional election campaigns. He voted for the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 and the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act. He was also an original co-sponsor of the Climate Stewardship Act (H.R. 620) and the Safe Climate Act.

Gun rights
Sestak supports gun control and has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the National Rifle Association.

Sestak has called for the reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons.

Healthcare
Sestak credits his support for health care reform as to "pay back" the country that provided him and his family health care while he was in the Navy (the TRICARE program), especially for successfully treating his daughter's brain tumor. He supports state-provided preventive care and voted for the CHAMP Act. Sestak originally co-sponsored the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiations Act, the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act and co-sponsored H.R. 3800, which establishes a public-private Partnership for Health Care Improvement. He also announced the Pediatric Cancer Caucus, which he will co-chair. He is also a member of the Autism Caucus, Diabetes Caucus, 21st Century Health Care Caucus, Congressional Mental Health Caucus, Nursing Caucus, and Cystic Fibrosis Caucus.

Unions
Sestak is an original co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and supports the original version that includes card check. He created the Labor Advisory Committee to address the challenges facing working families in his district.

Medical marijuana
Sestak voted to allow states to regulate medical marijuana by voting for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008, which would have barred the Department of Justice from preventing the implementation of state laws regarding the distribution, possession, and cultivation of medical marijuana. The bill was defeated 165–262.

Military
As a candidate, Sestak campaigned to end the war in Iraq. Once in office in 2007, he supported Congressional efforts to re-deploy forces but ultimately voted for the no-strings-attached war supplemental that the House constructed after President Bush's veto, a bill that many critics of the Bush administration have called a "blank check" for the continuation of administration policies in the Middle East.

Sestak supported the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which critics contend continues the Bush administration's policy of warrantless wiretapping and provides retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who participated in the National Security Agency's "terrorist surveillance program."

Sestak supported the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan in late 2009, and military actions such as drone strikes in northwest Pakistan. He supports the gradual drawdown of troops from Iraq.

Sestak was an opponent of "don't ask, don't tell", the policy that excludes gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the military, saying that the policy means "we're absolutely not adhering to the ideals of our nation". Sestak was instrumental in bringing to light a two-year pattern of abuse, including anti-gay hazing, that took place within a Military Working Dog unit stationed in Bahrain, sparking an investigation that turned up nearly 100 instances of abuse.